


Cats and Wolves

by Grimm (TroupeMasterGrimm)



Category: Dark Souls (Video Games)
Genre: (its kind of a mix between modern & fantasy i swear ill get into that), (ok i might be lying about that but im not sure yet. for now everyone is alive), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Ornstein got a big ol gay crush on Artorias, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Solaire and Ornstein are also roommates, Solaire and Ornstein are besties somehow, You heard right. depressed 24/7 and literal ray of sunshine are roommates, artorias is absolutely clueless half of the time, but meh itll go fine i think, except for scenery, ornstein owns about 5 cats. dont ask about it, probably a lot of other things i cannot remember rn, sif is a good wolf, thats my weakness, this is the first time im writing something dark souls related so im NERVOUS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-23 06:11:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16613435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TroupeMasterGrimm/pseuds/Grimm
Summary: Or in this case, cats are wolves.--In the city of Anor Londo lives a man named Ornstein, exprienced in the art of dragon taming and dragon slaying. He resides together with his roommate and best friend, Solaire, and is one of the four well known dragonslayers of Gwyn.However, he has a big secret he struggles to keep from society, unsure whether or not they would accept him.He manages well enough, until...--Artorias stumbles upon something he probably shouldn't have.





	1. Nights in Darkroot Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ornstein prepares for the big day.
> 
> Artorias follows him into the woods of Darkroot Garden.
> 
> Bad things ensue.

Ornstein sat at the table, stirring his coffee with one hand, petting one of his cats that had seated itself on his lap with the other.

He yawned, looking out of the window at the view of Anor Londo. The city looked pretty, tinted golden by the morning sun, leaves of the trees rustling in the slight breeze going across town. Ornstein enjoyed these types of mornings.

He stopped stiring, taking a sip from his coffee before setting the mug back down onto the table, looking towards the kitchen.

Solaire shuffled out, carrying two plates with two toasts on them each. After setting one down in front of Ornstein and the other next to it, he flopped down onto the couch next to Ornstein. The latter looked over, giving Solaire a light smile. "Thanks," he murmured, picking up the plate with one hand and grabbing one of the two toasts with the other.

Solaire simply hummed, doing the same. He watched the cat that had been resting on Ornstein's lap wander off into a different room of their shared home, and thus the two sat together in silence.

\---  
  
"Big day today, huh?" Solaire said as they stood in the kitchen, washing the dishes. Ornstein let out a sigh, looking over at the calendar that had today's date circled in red. He put away the plates, running a hand through his messy red hair. "Yeah," he replied, looking outside again.

He looked more worried than normal, and Solaire noticed.  
  
"Come now, you've been doing this for years. It won't be any different this time," Solaire smiled, patting Ornstein's back. "Nobody will find out, don't worry."  
  
Ornstein looked at Solaire, sighing again before nodding. Solaire was right. After all this time, chances of someone suddenly discovering his little secret really was unlikely.  
  
Nonetheless, something troubled him.

\---

The day went by as per usual, nothing truely exciting happened. Solaire and Ornstein went about their normal business, and as they neared sunset, Ornstein made his last preperations.  
  
"Where are you going tonight?" Solaire asked, picking up one of the cats that's been walking after him the entire time. It purred softly as Solaire petted it. "Y'know, just in case you don't come home tomorrow and I have to go out and find you again. Better safe than sorry,"  
  
Ornstein hummed, picking up a bag he'd be taking with him. He luckily knew the area he was going to quite well so it'd be no trouble for him to hide away the bag somewhere and find it the next day.  
  
"Darkroot Garden," he replied, stretching before he walked towards the door. "See you tomorrow, Solaire." He walked out and Solaire watched as suddenly the door opened again. "And don't forget to take care of the cats!" Ornstein said, having returned just to remind him of that. "I won't, don't worry," Solaire smiled, carrying away the one he was holding into the room where the other four cats were hanging out.

\---  
  
Ornstein stood before the entrance to Darkroot Garden, huffing. Today was gonna be a long night.  
  
He searched for a spot that was wide and had near to no ledges, in hopes the beast wouldn't decide to go climbing again like last time he came here. _That one_ was a pain in the ass. He had to call Solaire to bring Kalameet to him as he was in such a bad spot he couldnt even climb out on his own.  
  
When he found an open space, he settled his bag into a corner within a small cavern, moving as far away from the path he'd come from as he could before **it** would happen. Didn't need to maul any random wanderers- something that always worried him greatly.  
  
Once he felt the pain kick in, a rush going through his body, vision becoming blurry, he knew it set in, and within a few seconds, he completely blacked out.  
  
\---  
  
Artorias had been walking along the trail leading through Darkroot Garden alone, having left Sif with Ciaran. He wished to take a stroll on his own, clear his thoughts a bit. Not that it'd matter too much.  
  
When he began seeing footprints in the mud and heard leaves crunching in the distance, that's when he got curious.  
  
He followed them.  
  
In the distance he saw a figure he'd thought to recognize, seeming disoriented. He stayed at a certain distance- they acted irritated and confused, and Artorias didn't know if he'd make it better or worse.

When the figure finally stopped, they fell to their knees, holding their head. Artorias knew he had to do something, and approached. But when a scream errupted and horrible cracking noises filled the air, he froze in place. The figure shifted, shaking violently from side to side, _changing._ With their head turned towards him in the moonlight, he recognized the figure, and his heart dropped-  
  
Ornstein.  
  
The latter flung back around and changed until he resembled more of a wolf than anything.  
  
Artorias watched him stand up on two legs, before flopping back down on all fours, shaking himself like a dog before looking around, sniffing the ground.  
  
The former stood rooted in the ground, and he couldn't find the energy to move. His curious side wanted to approach or at least inquire, his fearful one wanted to run away and never look back.  
  
But then again, they did say you can't outrun a wolf on foot, and he knew that was very true about Sif, so perhaps this would apply for such a creature as well.  
  
Because his mind couldn't find a consensus, Artorias remained in position, just a few meters away. He simply observed for now.  
  
He had bright light brown-reddish fur, and his eyes flashed yellow as his head snapped towards the other. He was a lot larger than normal and easily could sprint those few meters and throw Artorias onto the ground, but instead he slowly approached.  
  
The latter began shuffling backwards slowly as the wolf approached. But eventually, he hit a wall.  
  
Ornstein stopped just two feet away from Artorias and he could easily pounce the last bit if he tried to run.  
  
He hung his head low and began growling quietly, getting louder gradually. The pupils in slits, you could see his teeth slightly showing, staring directly into his eyes.  
  
Artorias' hands grasped the rocks behind him, trying to think of an escape route in case his idea would go wrong. He threw it together in mere seconds.  
  
But a werewolf was still a wolf, right? And he was good with wolves.  
  
"O-Ornstein?"  
  
The wolf looked up at him as if he'd recognized the name or something else. That didn't stop him from continuing to growl though.  
  
"Don't you recognize me?"  
  
Growling quieted down. A good sign.  
  
When he thought it was safe enough, he slowly, very carefully reached out his hand. The wolf didn't snap, and instead began sniffing the hand. It made a sudden movement and Artorias panicked, thinking he would pounce at him and bite him or something, but instead, he sat down in front of him.  
  
Artorias watched for a few moments, before giving a sigh of relief as he didn't jump or anything like that.  
  
He let go of the rocks he had held onto in case he needed to get out quickly, closing the little distance between the two of them.  
  
Ornstein observed.  
  
Artorias again reached out his hand slowly, but this time he moved it to pet the wolf. He noticed the pupils had become round-ish at least so he felt it was safe now.  
  
The latter didn't seem to object the petting.  
  
"Good boy," Artorias smiled. It would've been more intimidating - and harder - if Ornstein was standing, as they were about the same size just now as he was sitting. However he still wasn't as tall as Sif.  
  
So many questions were running through his mind, most frequently 'When? Why? How?" followed up by a series of different words. He would have to ask Ornstein about it.  
  
However that wasn't an option right now, as it became very clear that Ornstein could not speak in this form. Perhaps he should take him home?  
  
No, that was an awful idea. Sneaking in a massive werewolf into Anor Londo was a) extremely hard b) likely to raise attention c) possibly going to get him killed. No, they'd have to stay in Darkroot Garden for the night.  
  
Of course Artorias had the ability to just leave, but he was worried that Ornstein may get hurt like this by doing something dumb or someone else finding him, or that he may even try to follow him.  
  
So Artorias stopped petting him and walked towards a cavern he'd spotted way back. Maybe they could stay there?  
  
He looked back to see if the latter was there. Ornstein followed suit, tail wagging.  
  
As they made their way across Darkroot Garden towards it's other section, Darkroot Basin, Artorias figured the cave where he'd seen a bonfire resting was the best place to go to.  
  
Most creatures were asleep, thus the two weren't faced off with anything while making their way there.  
  
At the cavern, Artorias noticed the bonfire as well as a bag. Maybe Ornstein had already thought of this before he changed?  
  
Either way, he lit the bonfire, siting down, leaned against a wall. He was very tired- his midnight stroll took much longer than he anticipated.  
  
He was lucky that Ciaran, Gough and the others were used to him just disappearing for an entire night so they probably wouldn't go search for him- and even if they did, they had no clue where he went. Chances of them finding Ornstein and him were slim considering how big Lordran is.  
  
The wolf lay down next to him, curling up slightly. In this moment, he looked more like a dog than the threatening wolf Artorias had seen just minutes ago.  
  
They sat in silence until Artorias fell asleep.


	2. Awkward mornings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artorias had decided to stay with Ornstein for the night rather than going home.
> 
> Ornstein wakes up to find himself in a cave with Artorias.
> 
> Panic and confusion follow.
> 
> \---
> 
> I just finished writing this and did not proofread, so if there's any mistakes bear with me, I will re-read it tomorrow

Ornstein groaned, turning from one side to the other, letting out a yawn. A fire crackled nearby, but he didn't really care right now. As often as he's gone through this, the transformation never really stops hurting or having it's after effects, like the feeling of nausea or immense pain and soreness.  
  
He tried to sit up slightly, but ended up just sliding back down onto the floor, too tired and pained to be bothered to get up. Grumbling again, he opened his eyes slightly to see the bright red emitting from the bonfire, and sighed.  
  
He heard something move beside him.  
  
'Maybe it was just a rat or something,' he thought, trying to calm himself down.  
  
Considering how bright it looked outside it must've been at least past 10 am.  
  
Solaire was probably worried about him- he usually came back pretty early on nights like these. Today was one of those where he took forever to come home.  
  
Forcing himself to at least sit up, Ornstein gave a sigh of relief as he managed to sit up and lean against the cold rocks behind him. The coolness of the stones made him relax.  
  
A yawn came from beside him, causing him to freeze, snap his eyes open and turn his head slowly to the side.  
  
There sat Artorias.  
  
He stretched, turning his head to look at Ornstein, blinking. "Oh," he began, trying to act casual, "Good morning."  
  
Ornstein stared for a few seconds before beginning to panic, breathing rapidly, causing him to become more nauseous than he previously had been.  
  
"Hey!" Artorias gently but firmly grabbed Ornstein's shoulder, keeping him in place as he was beginning to shake. "Calm down. It's alright."  
  
He spoke calmly and soft, but it really didnt help Ornstein too much.  
  
"How-How much? How much do you know?" The stare he gave Artorias was the one of a man who thought himself to be for dead.

"Well..." he began, averting his eyes from the other. No point in trying to hide it. "Enough, I guess." He looked back at Ornstein, who looked like he was about to start begging for mercy and the likes of things. "We can talk about it. I won't tell," he tried to calm him down.  
  
Ornstein looked like a machine trying to process several hundred different queries at the same time, and it took him a few minutes to even react to anything Artorias was saying. He was completely zoned out for that time.  
  
When he finally snapped back to reality, he looked up to Artorias, who looked back down at him.  
  
"Let's go home, okay?"  
  
Ornstein simply nodded, still not really done processing all this information and the possiblities and everything-  
  
Artorias reached out his hand, and Ornstein reached up to grab it, his stomach barely handling the input, hyperventilation and remains of last night. He would've bent down to pick up the bag himself, but he was on the verge of vomiting and he really didnt want to put himself through that now, so he instead asked Artorias if he could pick it up for him.  
  
\---  
  
Solaire was already waiting for the two- or well, at least one of them- by the door, quickly letting in Artorias and Ornstein. He was about to start asking all sorts of things, but Ornstein stopped him by putting up a hand. "Excuse me for a few minutes," he mumbled, and walked off towards the bathroom. This left Artorias and Solaire (and the cats) alone in the living room.  
  
Solaire turned to Artorias, looking up at the taller man. "Make yourself comfortable," he smiled, wandering off into the kitchen. Artorias put the bag down near the bathroom and seated himself on the couch.  
  
Some horrible noises emerged from the bathroom as Ornstein finally let the food out that he'd been trying to keep in for the last half an hour when they went back to Anor Londo.  
  
"Do either of you want anything?"  
  
Artorias looked over to the kitchen. "A cup of tea if you can do that?" he said, to which he received a hum.  
  
"What about you, Ornstein?"  
  
He received louder puking noises in return. "Okay, okay, I get it," Solaire said, walking out of the kitchen with two cups - one with tea, the other with coffee. He set one down in front of Artorias, the other to the left of Artorias, before sitting down on Artorias' right.  
  
"That isn't yours?" Artorias asked, surprised. "No, no." Solaire smiled. "He always drinks coffee after nights like these. Or well, he basically drinks coffee every morning-" he looked over to the bathroom door that had opened slightly and watched the hand pull in the bag before closing the door again- "-but especially on nights like these. He just can't seem to stomach anything other than coffee at times like these- and he always wants one, even if he doesn't sound like it." he hummed.  
  
Artorias blinked. A kitten strolled up to the two of them, around 5 or 6 months old, and jumped up to them, seating itself in Solaire's lap. Artorias was familiar with the little one from previous visits to Ornstein and Solaire's.  
  
They sat in silence for a bit, save for the kitten's purring as Solaire petted it gently.

Then, the bathroom door swung open and Ornstein walked out, a lot less messy- hair brushed and braided loosely, wearing a sweater that looked more like it belonged to Solaire than anything, with a sun printed on it; as well as some non-ripped pants. He didn't exactly look more excited or like he was feeling any better, if anything, he looked like he could go for another 12 hours of sleep right about now. Still, he instead just plopped down on the couch next to Artorias and picked up his coffee mug, sipping some of it before setting it down.

"So, Artorias. Go ahead and ask me any questions that are on your mind." He glared over at the other. "But do not tell anyone about this. This must be kept between us three, and us three only."  
  
Artorias hummed. "Do not worry, friend- I will not spill a word about this to anyone."  
  
"So?"  
  
Artorias stayed quiet for another moment. "When did this all start? How long have you been living like this?"  
  
Ornstein leaned back, relaxing. "Maybe about 5 or 6 years ago? I do not remember exactly when, but it has been a long time." he murmured.  
  
Artorias nodded. There were a lot of questions going through his mind, so many that he couldn't really decide which one to ask first-  
  
"Was it very troublesome at first?"  
  
Solaire snorted. Ornstein shot him a glare. "Troublesome barely scratches the surface of the first time-" Solaire said, sitting so that it was easier for him to talk to the other two. "However the night wasn't as bad as the morning after. You should've seen him. He looked like he'd gone six days without sleep and then got drunk on two entire bottles of alcohol on his own. He certainly behaved like it-"  
  
Ornstein hid his face, embarassed. "Solaireee-" he grumbled, though he didn't exactly look very angry.  
  
"Surprisingly, the cycle is a lot easier to get used to than you would think. What really is the problem is the mornings after and the transformation itself."  
  
Artorias hummed again, listening closely to what the two told him.  
  
\---

The day went by all too quickly with the three in their rambling, so much actually that Artorias almost forgot that he might want to head home and tell Ciaran and the others that he was alright and did not fall down a hole and die or the likes.  
  
"Tell them I said hi," Ornstein smiled as they waved goodbye and Artorias left for home.  
  
With only the two of them, Ornstein sighed.  
  
Solaire stood, leaned against a wall, sighing as well. "I jinxed it, didn't I?" he asked, looking over to Ornstein.  
  
"Yes, friend, you have," He walked towards the bedroom.  
  
"At least it was only Artorias- if it had been someone else, the situation might've gone way worse, with one or both of the ends dead." Solaire turned off the living room's light as he followed.  
  
Ornstein scowled at the words. "It was not anymore fortunate than someone having killed me," he said, looking away. "Perhaps he believes me to be a freak now. Perhaps I have less than a chance than I have had before."  
  
He sighed once more, tucking himself into bed. Today was not going to be any more productive than it had been, he feared, and he really needed the rest so he could even keep up his work until the next month. Solaire said something quietly as the light turned off and only the moonlight from the waning moon shone into the room anymore, but Ornstein was about to be whisked away by sleep anyways, so he did not hear whatever Solaire had said. Surely it was something encouraging, like always.  
  
\---  
  
Ornstein woke up late into the night,  groaning as he turned and tossed in bed. He closed his eyes to try and sleep back in, until he heard a quiet knock at the door. Solaire was still snoring quietly, so he certainly wasn't getting up to get the door. Grumbling again, Ornstein forced himself up, getting out of bed and quietly entering the living room, walking to the door of their home, softly opening it.  
  
In the ice cold breeze of the night, filled with the roaring of a snowstorm that had encroached upon Anor Londo, he looked down at the lightly clothed person standing in front of the door, carrying only a blanket and a pillow, tears staining their face.  
  
It was Gwyndolin.  
  
Ornstein quickly led them inside, closing the door *softly* behind them, turning on the light and guiding them to sit down on the couch. They must've been freezing while walking here.  
  
"Are you alright? What happened?" He slowed himself down, as to not overwhelm them with questions.  
  
Gwyndolin was just crying, and the best Ornstein could do was to comfort them for now, let them get everything out. His questions could wait- their safety was more important to him.  
  
Solaire had also woken up by now and come to the two of them. He was trying his best to help.  
  
After several minutes of sobbing, Gwyndolin managed to calm down enough to talk.  
  
"D-Dad kicked m-me out for the time b-being.." they stammered, eyes red from crying. They looked like they were seconds away from starting again.  
  
"Hey, hey! Shhhh... it's okay..." Ornstein was trying as hard as he could to calm them down and keep them calm. "You can stay with us for now- for as long as you need and want,"  
  
Gwyndolin looked up at the two of them, and nodded slightly.  
  
They stepped into the bedroom, Ornstein letting Gwyndolin sleep in his bed.  
  
"I've slept on the floor countless times before, it's fine," he smiled, taking his pillow and blanket and getting comfy on the floor- or well, at least as comfy as possible.  
  
The other two drifted off into sleep very quickly, and Ornstein was left with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought this chapter would end on a happy note, I'm sorry, I live for writing angst
> 
> Side note: Gwyndolin is like. 15 in this


End file.
